Few interventions reduce inequality in reading achievement, let alone higher order thinking skills, among adolescents. We study "policy debate"--an extracurricular activity focused on improving middle and high schoolers' critical thinking, argumentation, and policy analysis skills--in Boston schools serving large concentrations of…

Every year 1.3 million U.S. high school students drop out of school with one quarter of female students failing to graduate on time. Female dropouts are more likely to be unemployed, to earn less when they are employed, to become pregnant before the age of 20, to become obese, to smoke, and to drink more heavily than their male counterparts. This…

School choice programs, which allow students to attend the public or private school of their choice using public funds, have taken root in the U.S. and are growing rapidly both in number and size. Their fiscal impact has become an important political issue. Proponents say school choice saves money because private schooling is more efficient,…